Delhi BJP president Manoj Tiwari Thursday tweeted a list of the nominations for mayors, deputy mayors and members of the standing committees, with a separate column for caste and regions, evoking a sharp reaction from the opposition. Congress spokesperson Ramakant Goswami said the list amounted to a violation of the Model Code of Conduct. Advertising “It should be termed as appeasing voters by playing the caste card,” he said. This year, as per the rotation basis, the mayoral seat is reserved for councillors from the SC category. The list, however, specifies the sub-caste (such as valmiki, jatav) that the leader belongs to. Even in case of deputy mayors and standing committee members, their caste or the region they belong to has been mentioned. The list mentions if a leader is Purvanchali, Brahmin or Gujjar as well. Advertising When asked why Tiwari tweeted a list that specifies caste and region, BJP media co-incharge Neelkant Bakshi said the party believes in taking every community along. “We have integrated people from diverse groups; caste and region have been mentioned to show this,” he said. Tiwari could not be contacted for a comment on the issue. Anju Kamalkant has been nominated for mayor from East Delhi Municipal Corporation, Avtar Singh for the North body and Sunita Kangra from South Delhi Municipal Corporation. Sanjay Goyal (EDMC), Yogesh Verma (NDMC) and Raj Dutt Gahlot (SDMC) have also been nominated as candidates for deputy mayor elections. Two councillors each of the party were also nominated to the standing committees of the respective municipal corporations. SDMC mayoral polls will be held on April 26, while polls for EDMC and NDMC will be held on April 29.

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